"It was a long, dragged-out experience because of rain," recalls Capps, who is tied in the series points lead with Ashley Force Hood. "It was a Tuesday when we ran the final round. My wife Shelley had to go back home on Sunday night to go to work and I remember waking up on Monday and being able to run one or two rounds that day until it rained again and we had to stay over until Tuesday.

"Back then I was teaching racquetball at a health club so I had a job also to go back to. I was driving for a privateer team run by Roger Primm out of his pocket and we were winning rounds and even made it into the final round. The thing that stood out the most for me was that people showed up at the track on that Tuesday to watch the finals.

"Yeah, it was a small crowd, but it was amazing that anybody came out on a Tuesday. It looked gloomy in the morning and it looked like we would be there another day, but we were able to run the race. I'll never forget coming around the corner and (the late) Al Hofmann had won Funny car right in front of me and he was doing his interview. And I remember him coming over and giving me a hug, which is something that he didn't usually do, but he knew it was my first win. It was cool.

"I didn't know Cory well at the time," Capps continued. "He was considered a veteran and I had actually gone to him to get advice. So, I was racing a guy that I had gone to for advice on how to drive a Top Fuel car and here I was racing him. I felt a little badly that I beat him; it was definitely a David-and-Goliath scenario.

"Cory was driving the McDonald's Joe Gibbs-owned team, had the biggest budget probably on the grounds, and I was driving a car that was funded out of the owner's wallet. It was a neat feeling. I went from simply being happy to be in the final, not thinking we were going to win, to seeing my win light go on as a rookie on a Tuesday.

"Back then I worked on the car and helped drive the truck with the crew chief. It was a fun winner's circle, but we had to pack up and I had to jump in the truck and help drive it back to Reno and then get myself back to my day job. There wasn't a whole lot of time to savor the win."

Fast forward 14 years and Capps is now a veteran with 30 national-event wins, including two in Seattle, three runner-up finishes at Pacific Raceways, and aiming for his first Funny Car series championship this season. He's got a killer car under him tuned by Ed "Ace" McCulloch and he's ready to take over as sole leader in the class.

"We had our new car put together in Norwalk (two races ago) and Ace has always been thinking far ahead. And, after winning Denver last weekend I feel like we're back at the beginning of the season again with the new car." Capps was undefeated in the first two events of 2009, in Pomona, Calif., and Phoenix. "We're looking to have another good weekend in Seattle and throughout this run to the Countdown to 1 playoffs.

"Right now, coming off a win in Denver, where I'd never won before, I'm looking forward to the next two races in Seattle and Sonoma (Calif., which follows the Seattle event), where I have won before."

RON CAPPS QUICK FACTS:
* No. 1 in 2009 Funny Car points (tied with Ashley Force Hood), after winning five in six final rounds of the first 13 races of the season (Pomona, Calif., Phoenix, Las Vegas, Topeka, Denver)
* Led point standings through first 10 events
* Round win-loss record in 2009 is 26-8
* Qualified No. 15 in 2008 Seattle, lost final round to Tony Bartone
* Seattle winner in TF in '95 (Cory McClenathan); in '98 in FC (John Force)
* Seattle runner-up in '01 (Whit Bazemore); '06 (Bazemore); '08 (Tony Bartone)
* No. 8 in 2008 Funny Car points; two runner-up, five semifinal, four quarterfinal finishes, 13 first-rounds
* 2008 round win-loss record was 20-24
* Is tied with Tony Pedregon with longest qualifying streak among active Funny Car drivers: 52
* No. 4 in 2007 Funny Car point standings
* Led 2007 Funny Car point standings by as much as 154 points through 14 of the first 17 races of the season
* NAPA AUTO PARTS is primary sponsor for second straight season
* Joined Don Schumacher Racing in 2005
* Has three U.S. Smokeless Showdown titles: 1998, 1999 and 2002
* Third in 2006 final point standings
* Had class-best five wins in 2006
* Had three wins, four runner-up finishes in 2005 (St. Louis was his first win for DSR in '05)
* 2005 Funny Car championship runner-up, eight points short of title
* Qualified No. 1 once in 2005, in Dallas; first time since Brainerd 2000
* Has nine career No. 1 qualifiers, none in 2006, '07 or '08. Three in 2009 so far (Phoenix, St. Louis, Denver)
* A perennial fan favorite, Capps has driven and won in both Top Fuel and Funny Cars since he began his pro NHRA career in 1995
* His best season points finishes were seconds in Funny Car in 1998, 2000 and 2005
* He has 30 event wins in 59 final rounds to his credit (29 national event wins in Funny Car, one in Top Fuel)
* His career-best elapsed time (established during an event) is 4.694 seconds, set in 2005 in Dallas
* His career-best speed is 331.61 mph (Pomona 1, '07)
* Capps' career round win-loss record is 358-262
* Capps' career record against 14-time champion Force is 20-41 in round wins. He's won 12 of the last 17 meetings against Force, and has won five of the last seven first-round match-ups over Force
* Age 43 (June 20, 1965); born and raised in San Luis Obispo, Calif.
* Lives in Carlsbad, Calif., with wife Shelley and daughter Taylor (7/25/96) and son Caden (7/1/01)
* Has tested for IROC Series and competed in Skip Barber Formula Ford, Dirt Late Models, Mini-Sprints and Go-Karts

SCHEDULE:
FRIDAY, July 17 - PROFESSIONAL QUALIFYING SESSIONS at 3 and 5:30 p.m.
SATURDAY, July 18 - PROFESSIONAL QUALIFYING SESSIONS at noon and 2:30 p.m.
SUNDAY, July 19 - Pre-race ceremonies, 10 a.m. FINAL ELIMINATIONS begin at 11 a.m.

TELEVISION:
Saturday, July 18, ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise two hours of qualifying highlights at 7 p.m. (ET). Sunday, July 19, ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise NHRA Race Day at 11a.m. (ET) Sunday, July 19, ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise three hours of coverage starting at 9 p.m. (ET).

Courtesy of Judy Stropus